What Is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?
PID is a bacterial infection of one or more of the upper reproductive organs and is most common in sexually active women aged 15-25. It happens when harmful bacteria that are spread to the vagina during unprotected sex are left untreated and then spread further up via the cervix into the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or uterus.
Although uncomfortable symptoms are apparent for some, PID is often referred to as the ‘silent epidemic’ due to symptoms being absent or mild for many. As a result, PID often progresses undiagnosed, silently damaging the upper reproductive organs to the point of infertility and chronic pelvic pain.
Because many women initially experience mild or no symptoms of PID, it is incredibly important to get tested regularly for STIs when sexually active. Although often symptomless, untreated PID can result in blocked fallopian tubes due to scar tissue, irreversible infertility, ectopic pregnancies, chronic pelvic pain, and the growth of abscesses on reproductive organs that can cause sepsis.
How Is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Diagnosed?
Due to the absence of symptoms in many cases, PID often goes undiagnosed until patients experience infertility or chronic pelvic pain. When symptoms do occur, they can appear similar to those typically associated with other pelvic conditions like endometriosis. For this reason, healthcare practitioners normally ask patients about their medical history as well as their symptoms, and carry out additional tests to rule out other conditions before diagnosing PID.
PID is typically diagnosed based on a combination of the following:
Symptoms – understanding the symptoms experienced by each patient can help narrow the possibilities of diagnosis.
Medical History – understanding a patient’s medical history, previous STIs, sexual activity, and type of birth control can help health practitioners eliminate or consider other conditions.
Pelvic Exam – allows healthcare providers to take fluid samples from the vagina and cervix that can be lab tested for the presence of harmful bacteria that cause STIs or other infections. A pelvic exam also enables healthcare providers to identify or rule out inflammation or tenderness in the reproductive tract.
Blood & Urine Tests – these enable healthcare providers to check for STIs, HIV, and pregnancy. The samples are also used to check white blood cell counts that could indicate infection.
Ultrasound – allows healthcare providers to see images of the reproductive organs to identify some, but not all, abnormalities.
If the collective information garnered from these tests is not helpful, a laparoscopy and biopsy could be performed to extract and test endometrial tissue (from the inner uterine lining) for infection.
Is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Curable?
Yes, when PID is diagnosed and treated early, it can be cured. That said, treatment will not reverse any damage that has been caused to the reproductive organs by the infection, and the longer PID is left untreated, the more complications can occur.
How to Treat Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Antibiotic treatment is required to clear PID. Due to the various bacteria that can trigger PID, healthcare providers may initially prescribe a combination of antibiotics to treat the infection. However, once lab tests confirm which bacteria caused the infection, the initial combination of antibiotics may be altered.
Although symptoms might improve after a few days of taking antibiotics it does not mean the infection has cleared and it’s important to complete the full course.
Abstaining from intercourse until the infection has fully cleared is also considered part of treatment for PID. Informing sexual partners of the STI that triggered your PID is also vital so they can receive treatment too.
Partners may not have any symptoms of an STI, but they can still be infected, and having sex with them after curing PID will increase your risk of contracting the same STI and PID again. It’s also been proven that once someone has had PID, the risk of getting it again is much higher.
Restoring Vaginal Health with Probiotics
While taking antibiotics to clear an infection, some women are prone to a subsequent yeast infection. This is because antibiotics destroy friendly bacteria as well as harmful bacteria.
As long as the vaginal microbiome maintains a delicate balance of friendly and harmful bacteria in addition to small amounts of fungi, the vaginal environment remains healthy and capable of keeping infections at bay. Unfortunately, antibiotics can adversely affect this balance by destroying friendly bacteria and creating an environment where fungi can thrive into a yeast infection.
Taking a probiotic like Flora Bloom Feminine Probiotics in conjunction with the antibiotics required for PID will prevent yeast infections and restore balance to the vaginal microbiome.
Preventing STIs and PID
Reducing the risk of PID means reducing your risk of contracting STIs, as well as treating them promptly and correctly when they do occur. The best tips for doing so include the following:
Always practice safe sex by using barrier methods of contraception with new partners until you have both been tested for STIs. Birth control pills are a form of contraception that prevents pregnancy, but they are not a barrier method of contraception that can prevent STIs. Condoms, diaphragms, and cervical caps are considered barrier methods of contraception.
Get tested regularly for STIs if you have multiple or frequently new sexual partners. Because some STIs can be asymptomatic for some people, getting tested is the only true way to know you are not infected. Catching and treating an STI early can prevent PID.
Don't douche. Douching, which is a synthetic wash product for the inner vagina, upsets the balance of the vaginal microbiome and increases the risk of vaginal infections and contracting STIs. The vagina is a self-cleaning machine that requires nothing more than a daily wash with warm water to stay clean and healthy.
If you suffer from an STI like trichomoniasis, which is known to reoccur in 20% of women, speak with your healthcare provider about taking Boric Acid Suppositories to fully clear the infection. Trichomoniasis increases the chances of contracting chlamydia and gonorrhea, which are two of the main contributors to PID.
When taken in conjunction with the required antibiotics, boric acid suppositories can help to treat BV too, which is also believed to contribute to the onset of PID.
Conclusion
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a bacterial infection that affects the upper female reproductive organs, such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and uterus. Caused by untreated STIs that begin in the vagina and spread through the reproductive tract, PID can result in infertility, ectopic pregnancies, chronic pain, and irreversible damage to the reproductive organs.
To prevent PID, get tested for STIs regularly and treat them accordingly. Antibiotics are required to treat PID and a probiotic taken in conjunction will help to prevent subsequent yeast infections while also restoring optimal vaginal health after the STI and PID.
References
Office on Women’s Health – Pelvic Inflammatory Disease - https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/pelvic-inflammatory-disease
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – Pelvic Inflammatory Disease - https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/pid.htm
Centers for Disease & Control Prevention – Trichomoniasis - https://www.cdc.gov/std/trichomonas/stdfact-trichomoniasis.htm
Journal of The American Sexually Transmitted Disease Association - https://journals.lww.com/stdjournal/fulltext/2017/02000/trichomonas_vaginalis_treated_with_boric_acid_in_a.12.aspx
National Library of Medicine - The antimicrobial effect of boric acid on Trichomonas vaginalis - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25581807/